Learning how to become a fashion designer is a great way to make a career out of a passion for clothing and style. While gracing the runways of New York Fashion Week might seem like an unattainable goal, with proper planning and learned skills, rubbing elbows with high-end designers might not be such a pipe dream after all.
- Study the History of Fashion
- Learn the Design Process
- Develop Proficiency in Drawing
- Study Color Theory
- Explore Fabrics
- Study Garment Construction
- Learn About Product Development
- Master Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop
- Learn Business Practices
- Study Sustainability in Design
- Get to Know Your Customer
Getting Started in Fashion Design
You don’t have to be born into design royalty to make a name for yourself in the world of fashion. A majority of the most famous names in fashion began with modest starts to their careers. Before they became the fashion icons we know, Michael Kors was a sales assistant at a trendy NYC boutique, Alexander McQueen was a tailor’s apprentice, and Coco Chanel was a clerk in a hosiery shop. Landing a job for a major fashion label, starting your own business, or working as a freelancer, are also very realistic career goals if you have the drive, commitment, and willingness to study.
Choosing a Path
There are essentially three paths to enter the fashion industry. Simply put, most people begin by earning a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts in Fashion Design from an accredited college or university, then assemble a portfolio, and apply for a job. The second option is to start your own business, which means handling everything from design to product development, to garment construction, manufacturing, distribution, and marketing. The third is to become a freelancer who works on a project-by-project basis for a variety of companies.
Deciding about what type of designer you want to be and what type of work you want to do is important, because it helps to inform you about what skills to focus on and what type of education to pursue. There are many successful designers working for large fashion houses who have a degree from a prestigious university, and there is an equally large number of self-taught business owners and freelancers who excel in the industry after learning their fashion designing skills independently.
How to Use This Guide
The number of career options in fashion is as varied as there are styles of design. So, rather than provide a generic, one-size-fits-all guide, we’ve decided to provide information about what to expect from a fashion design school as well as an alternative study plan for the self-taught learner. Continue reading to explore both paths.
Path #1 - Earn a BFA in Fashion Design
Applying to a School of Fashion Design
There are a large number of colleges and universities that have excellent fashion degree programs, but only a handful that have the kind of powerful name-recognition that can propel your career to new heights based on reputation alone (see our national rankings of fashion design schools). Competition is very high and the process tends to be selective, which makes it extremely difficult to enter these schools.
The typical admissions process requires each applicant to provide materials that demonstrate their talent, creativity, and commitment. This includes a personal statement, a portfolio of work that showcases their personal direction and aesthetic sensibilities, transcripts for all the institutions they have attended, letters of recommendation written by a person who is familiar with their artistic work, and other supplementary materials.
What You Will Learn in School
At the average American fashion school, you will spend three to four years taking fine arts classes and studying drawing, color composition, form, pattern making, fabric draping, and cutting techniques. You will also take courses in computer-aided fashion design, textiles, figure drawing, and the history of fashion design, all while learning how to take your ideas, develop them, and refine them into an entire collection.
It’s realistic to expect that you will take at least four to six design classes before you graduate, with an average of two to three design projects per class, plus a final collection prior to graduation. At the conclusion of your program, you should be a well-rounded designer with a vision for the type of work you would like to pursue.
The Most Important Advantages of Fashion School
In addition to teaching technical skills and honing the creativity of their students, formal education will provide a curriculum that prepares students for the business side of fashion. The bottom line is, most students leave school with a firm grasp of how to draw flats, how to sew, how to construct a garment, how to produce a collection, and the essentials of a fashion portfolio, but few have the business acumen needed to start a business or keep it running.
This is where the best schools separate themselves by training students for what goes on behind the scenes with classes about business practices, including finance, manufacturing, retail sales promotion, consumer behavior, product development, and marketing.
The most prestigious programs also work very closely with employers in the design industry – a benefit that is virtually impossible to replicate in a learning environment outside of school. For example, many top fashion schools bring in designers from world-famous fashion brands to work directly with graduating students to critique and improve their collections. When combined with end-of-semester fashion shows, graduating students can attract a lot of attention from fashion industry scouts, gain attention in the media, and potentially earn financial support.
Path #2 - Self-Directed Study
It goes without saying that school is not for everyone. These words are especially true if you are trying to start your own design business, become a freelancer, or get a job in the fashion industry in a non-design role. The truth is, you can go to school to pursue any of these career options, but realistically, you don’t need to.
For example, if you want to work as a patternmaker or seamstress, the best route you can take is to apply for an internship by sending a portfolio of your best work to a fashion house you’re interested in. From there, you can learn all the practical skills you need through hands-on experience in entry-level positions and work your way up.
If studying fashion design in school isn’t for you, remember that there are numerous examples of famous designers who entered the field with no formal training. You will still need to educate yourself, but most of the concepts and techniques you learn in four years at fashion school can be learned in a self-taught environment. The remainder of this guide is dedicated to the skills and subjects you must learn if you want to work in the fashion industry today.
1. Study the History of Fashion, Design, and Costuming
Typically, fashion and design schools require at least a few courses in art history, costume history, and in some cases, more niched electives, like Broadway costume history. If you're studying independently, you'll want to cover at least the basics. Be sure to study the top fashions in each decade, particularly the 20s, 60s, and 70s.
Look at how silhouettes, fabrics, and color schemes have changed over time, and pay attention to how fashion history tends to repeat itself. Branch out into international fashion and study the history of clothing and style in Japan, France, and other fashion-forward countries. A robust background in fashion and design history will help create a solid career foundation on which you can build.
2. Learn the Design Process
"Design process" is an approach for breaking down a large project into manageable components. In fashion design, it's the process of taking your ideas, collecting information, brainstorming, gathering feedback, and refining your ideas to create designs and assemble a complete collection.
As a designer in training, you must learn the key processes, teach yourself to recognize good design, and develop your own methods if you want to grow. Once you are a working designer, you won't have time to elaborate on every step of the design process, so it's critically important for you to practice each step until you become much faster and more efficient.
The Design Process
In your typical American fashion school, a fashion design student will learn to execute the basic steps of the design process, which include gathering inspiration, identifying the customer, developing mood boards, color selection, fabric selection, creating first sketches, providing initial cost estimates, creating flat drawings, and producing digitally rendered designs.
As a beginning designer, it is essential that you are fluent in each step of the process so you can eventually create your own workflow that allows you to focus on the elements of design that produce the best results for you. In the sections below, you’ll learn more about different elements of the design process and how they come together to create a collection.
3. Develop Proficiency in Drawing and Illustration
While you don't have to be Vincent Van Gogh to have a career in fashion, learning basic art concepts and how to create figure drawings and fashion illustrations to bring your designs to life is critical. Here are three important types of art that are important to the fashion industry and how you can develop your skills in each.
Figure Drawing
First, you’ll need to learn how to draw figures. Invest in some basic but high-quality art supplies, including a sketchbook, pencils, charcoal, and good erasers. Look for figure templates that you can print out and use to trace until you get the hang of how figures should look on paper.
Drawing Clothes on Bodies
Next, you’ll want to learn how to draw clothes on your figures. This can be challenging because you’ll need to use a variety of art concepts like shading and depth to make fabric and accessories look realistic. In fashion school, you’ll have the benefit of watching an instructor use certain techniques and to learn by doing. Independent learners can look for instructional videos on YouTube, which often teach the same skills.
Fashion Illustration
Once you’ve learned how to draw figures and the fashions to go on them, you’ll need to bring them to life with color. Watercolors, pastels, high-quality markers, and other mediums can help you illustrate the color stories in your designs and collections. Make sure to invest in good quality materials with rich pigments that allow you to depict slight shifts in color and shade.
4. Study Color Theory
Next to fabric, color is one of the most fundamental aspects of fashion design. In fact, every design or art major studies the theory of color and how it's used in their industry. In fashion, color tells stories and evokes emotion, and it's often the first thing that consumers look for when choosing a garment. If a garment is absolutely perfect in fit, fabric, and price, but is the wrong color, the consumer will most likely not make the purchase.
Fashion colleges talk about color theory and stories in every class and for every project. Independent learners should start with the color wheel and dive into published resources on color theory. Look for articles on color usage in fashion published by reputable art and design websites. There's also a wealth of videos on YouTube and similar streaming services that cover color theory and how to use color in fashion design that you can use to expand your knowledge on color theory.
5. Explore Fabrics and Fabric Manipulation
Fabric is the core of the fashion industry. Drawing sketches and fashion illustrations is simply a way to visualize the designer's piece; the fabric is their true medium and the finished garment the work of art. It's critical for fashion designers to be well-acquainted with various types of fabrics, what they feel like, how they move, and what it's like to work with them.
Start by visiting your local fabric or craft store. Look at:
- What fabrics cost compared to each other
- How fabrics feel
- Different types of fabric (satin, silk, twill, cotton, polyester, spandex, etc.) and fabric blends
- Fiber content
- How fabrics stretch
- Which fabrics wrinkle or fray more easily
- How fabrics need to be washed and dried
- Fabric breathability
- Fabric comfort
Study both common and uncommon fabrics, which fabrics are frequently used for which projects, and which fabrics are often used together. Use your collection ideas to further your knowledge about particular fabrics.
For example, if you're developing a bridal collection, you can study satin, charmeuse, and chiffon in detail. At the completion of your project, you should be well-versed in how to work with these materials. Your next project might be women's winter outerwear, or children's wear, which will give you an opportunity to experiment and learn about an entirely new set of fabrics.
6. Study Garment Construction
Most fashion designers are adept with a needle and thread, but some aren't proficient in sewing beyond the basics. Whether or not you need to learn how to sew well largely depends on the type of fashion designer you'd like to be.
Sewing Basics
You should learn how to sew a few basic stitches by hand, as well as operate a simple sewing machine. You should be familiar enough with sewing and pattern draping to be able to communicate well with the team producing your samples and finished products.
A great way to learn about garment construction is to visit clothing stores. Try things on and feel them with your hands. Notice the fabric, the cut, and the stitching. Look at what materials are used for lining garments like jackets and dresses and evaluate the quality of each piece compared to its price. Make sure you visit stores in-person -- browsing online won't give you the tactile information about garment construction that being hands-on will.
Advanced Sewing
If you plan to work under another designer or for a company, you don't need to have robust sewing skills. If you'd like to start your own line, however, it's important that you be proficient enough to sew your own samples.
The more you know how to do from the start of a design project to its completion, the more creative control you exercise over it. When a production team creates your samples, there's a chance that a few precious details get lost in translation. If you know how to sew well, you can push your creative boundaries and increase your chances of success.
7. Learn About Product Development and Technical Design
When a design has been completed, the product is ready to be developed. This process involves learning how to draw fashion flat sketches, how to create a tech pack using a template, and how to spec out garments.
Fashion flat sketches, also called flat sketches or just "flats" in the fashion industry, are technical drawings of the front and back of a garment if it were laid out flat. The sketch shows details like seams, hardware, and topstitching, and is necessary for every design that goes to production. A tech pack is a sheet of information given to manufacturers that includes all the necessary technical specs for the garment to be made. Tech packs typically include materials, colors, measurements, labels, and other production details.
Learning how to create good flats and tech packs can also help fund your career as you continue to learn how to become a fashion designer. You can sell templates or commissioned pieces to other designers who want to focus on the creative aspects instead of the technical.
8. Master Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop
Success in the fashion industry today requires the ability to use computer programs (cad programs) to render fashion designs, tech packs, flats, and more. The most commonly used design cad is Adobe Illustrator, and it's a must for any aspiring fashion designer. Other design programs are available, like Procreate, but aren't nearly as widely used as Adobe and most likely, you'd end up needing to learn how to use both. If you do choose to learn an alternative program, make sure the files are compatible with Illustrator. You'll also need to develop basic photo editing skills to insert your flats into your tech packs and line sheets, as well as a wide variety of other situations.
9. Learn Business Practices and Apparel Manufacturing
Becoming a fashion designer, or creative director, especially one that is renowned, requires more than just indulging your artistic side. Sales, production, merchandising, and distribution are equally important to establishing your brand. This means that in addition to learning how to become a fashion designer, you'll also need to learn how to operate a business. The more you know about shipping, cash management, and profit and loss, the more control you will have over the production and sales of your designs.
You don't necessarily have to be a business mogul to be successful, but you do need some basic entrepreneurial skills if you want to create your own line. Look for books that summarize the basics of running a business that can be adapted to the specifics of the fashion industry. This provides you with a foundational skillset that can be built upon over time with experience.
10. Study Sustainability in Design
In today's political and economic climate, sustainability in fashion is no longer an option -- it's a necessity. Many fashion schools don't do much to cover sustainability, or they may not stay current on the latest eco-friendly design trends, leaving both traditional students and independent learners to discover sustainability in fashion on their own.
Delve into current textile news and resources to learn how to create sustainable designs. Learn about eco-friendly fabrics and other materials, production processes that are less harmful to the environment, and ethical approaches to garment production. Look for published content from reputable sources on low-waste pattern cutting, water waste reduction, and fair-trade sourcing.
As you learn sustainable practices, apply them to your designs over time. There's no need to suddenly become a completely ecologically sound fashion designer in one fell swoop. Simply keep sustainability in mind as you grow your career and look for new opportunities to apply eco-friendly practices.
11. Research Your Customer
Knowing your audience and understanding fashion trends is the key to success in any apparel business, not just fashion design. Since clothing and accessories are so personal, and many people use fashion as an expression of themselves, it’s even more important that designers understand the end customer.
Basic market research (even on social media) can help you learn what your ideal customers earn and how much they spend, where and how they like to shop, and their lifestyle preferences. You should have a solid grasp of your target audience’s needs and wants, in order to develop marketing strategies aimed to meet both.
Consider talking with a stylist to learn about what their customers are asking for and what consumer trends they are following. Speaking to other professionals in the fashion industry is useful because it helps you incorporate other opinions and learn more about the market you are targeting.
Are You Ready to Become a Fashion Designer?
If you have a passion for style and a creative streak, then becoming a fashion designer may be an excellent career path. Whether you decide to attend a traditional fashion school or pursue self-guided study, you've got a lot to look forward to. Finding employment in the fashion industry or building your own business will each have its own unique challenges but the rewards are huge for those that make it.
Additional How-to-Become Guides for Careers in Fashion
If you are considering a career within the industry of fashion, check out these additional how-to-become guides to learn about similar career options in the field.
How to Become an Accessory Designer
How to Become a Costume Designer
How to Become a Fashion Consultant
How to Become a Fashion Merchandiser
How to Become a Jewelry Designer
How to Become a Make Up Artist
How to Become a Fashion Model
How to Become a Shoe Designer
How to Become a Textile Designer